The “surfing” event of the MarbleLympics is something like a biathlon, and in more ways than one: not only does the event involve two separate activities – a surfboard contest and an underwater race – but our athletes get two kicks at the can, with the best of their two scores counting.
This event can be misleading to watch. Finishing first in the race doesn’t count for much if it’s the result of quickly capsizing, and long surf distances don’t matter if most of the movement is lateral; only forward movement counts in the overall score.1Those of you who have taken university-level physics are probably muttering “friggin’ dot products” under your breath.
Plus, there’s plenty of jostling and jockeying once the marbles sink beneath the waves. Collisions are common, though no injuries were reported today. These marbles are in it to win it, consequences be damned.
In the end, a thoroughly soaked Skip nabbed the gold for the Jungle Jumpers, while the Hazers picked up a silver based on their performance in their first heat, and the Indigo Stars finally got on the board with a bronze.
Stray thoughts:
- The Raspberry Racers came in fourth, and the Green Ducks came in twelfth. That allowed the Racers to vault over the Ducks to first place overall by a margin of two points.
- I’m going to be honest: this isn’t my favourite event to watch. The surfing component is over too soon, and it’s hard to parse what’s going on in such a short interval, because my attention is immediately drawn toward the subsequent underwater race.
- The Oceanics continue to be absolute garbage at aquatic events, this time placing all the way back in fourteenth. Replacing their coach Tide with Lagoon has failed to yield any dividends. These blue balls keep blue-balling themselves.
- At this point, only the Raspberry Racers, the Green Ducks, and the Hazers are really in contention for a podium finish. The Savage Speeders and Mellow Yellow could surprise with a couple of medals apiece in the next two events, but I think our top 3 have been cemented.
Next time: Collision. Please remember your safety goggles!
Complete stats for the 2019 MarbleLympics can be found at the MarbleLympics Wiki.